SS3 


SHAW 


E  STUDIES 
IN  EDUCATION 


372-B 


S.  IS.  s. 


UCLA-Young  Research   Library 

LB1525   .S53 

y 


Southern  Branch 
of  the 

University  of  California 

Los  Angeles 


Form  L  1 


LB 
152  5 
353 


fcJTATS  NOEalAL  S^  HOUL 

LOS  ANGiilLEG,  CaUP'OKwIA 


OCT    y 

NOV  13 


THREE  STUDIES  IN 
EDUCATION: 

THE  SPELLING  QUESTION 
COMPOSITION  FOR  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

VALUE  OF  THE  MOTOR  ACTIVITIES 

IN  EDUCATION 
f 

BY 

EDWARD  R.  SHAW,  Ph.D. 

Dean  of  the  School  of  Pedagogy,  New  York  University 


NEW   YORK    AND   CHICAGO: 

E.  L.  KELLOGG  &  CO. 


c>ct.  &o^ 


Copyright,   1899. 
By  E.  L.  Kellogg  &  Co.,  New  York. 


TEACHERS'  MANUALS. 

Twenty-five  little  boolfs,  each  an  educational  gem.  These  are 
some  of  the  best  short  books  ever  wiitten  on  education.  Y>  u  C3fn 
carry  one  with  you  and  read  in  odd  n.inutes.  Bound  in  strong 
manila,  uniform  in  size  and  style.     Price,  15  cents  each. 

1.  Fitch's  Art  of  Questioning 

3  Fitch's  Art  of  Securing  Attention 

3  Sidgwick's  Stimulus  in  School 

4.  Yonce's  Practical  Work  in  School 

5.  Fitch's  Improvement  in  the  Art  of  Teaching 
6  Gladstone's  Object  Teaching 

7.  Huntington's  Unconscious  Tuition 

8.  Huv  hes  s  How  to  Keep  Order 

9  Quick's  How  to  Train  the  Memory 

10  Hoffman  s  Kindergarten  Gifts 

11.  Butler's  Arcumsnt  for  Manual  Training 

12  Gi o.f's  School  Hygiene 

13  How  to  Conduct  thf  Recitation 

14.  Carter's  Artificial  Production  of  Stupidity  in  School 

15  Kellogg's  Life  of  Pestalozzi 

16.  Lang's  Basedow  :  His  Life  and  Educational  Work 

17.  Lang's  Comknius  ;  His  Life  and  Educational  Work 

18.  Kellogg's  The  Writing  of  Compositions 

19.  Allen's  Historic  Outlines  of  Education 

20.  Phelps's  Life  of  David  P.  Page 

21.  Lang's  Rousseau  and  his  Emilb 

22.  Lang's  Horace  Mann  :    His  Life  and  Educational  Work 

23.  Rooper's  The  Chld  ;  His  Studies  and  Occupations 
2t.  Rooper's  Drawing  in  Infant  Schools 

25.     Dewey's  Educational  Creed 


c::    53 


Cbc  8pcUtng  Question. 

//  737 

URING  the  past  three  years  four  separate 
investigations  upon  the  spelling  problem 
have  been  made  in  the  School  of  Peda- 
gogy, New  York  university.  Two  of 
these  investigations  were  made  by  myself 
and  the  other  two  were  carried  forward 
under  my  immediate  direction.  The  object  of  these 
investigations  was  to  see  whether  some  new  knowledge 
might  not  be  gained  that  would  render  more  specific 
guidance  in  the  teaching  of  spelling.  Other  investigators 
have  been  working  on  this  problem,  but  no  reports  of 
those  investigations  have  come  under  the  writer's  notice 
except  that  of  Miss  Adelaide  Wyckoif  on  "Constitutional 
Bad  Spellers"  in  the  Pedagogical  Seminary  for  December, 
1893,  and  that  made  in  Sioux  City,  the  reburns  of  which 
were  published  in  the  Iowa  Normal  Monthly  and  also  in 
The  School  Journal  for  May  16,  '96.  Miss  Wyckoff  made 
tests  upon  an  extremely  small  number  of  spellers,  who 
were  mature  pupils  with  some  power  of  introspsction. 
Her  study  is  valuable  for  its  suggestiveness. 

The  investigation  made  at  Sioux  City,  starting  out 
wibh  the  proposition  that  spelling  exercises  as  usually 
conducted  appeal  to  three  kinds  of  memory,  namely, 
that  of  form  thru  the  eye,  that  of  sound  thru  the  ear, 
that  of  muscular  resistance  thru  muscular  effort  in 
writing,  sought  to  determine  which  of  these  three  kinds 


4  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION. 

of  memory  is  most  potent  in  learning  to  spell,  so  that  in 
teaching  spelling  the  greater  measure  of  success  might 
be  attained  by  making  the  appeal  chiefly  to  that  kind  of 
memory. 

In  the  Sioux  City  investigation,  seven  hundred  and 
forty-three  pupils  were  tested  with  meaningless  words  of 
five  and  ten  letters,  as,  grynaphisk,  halep-mirus,  so  using 
these  words  as  to  appeal  to  the  eye,  to  the  ear,  and  to 
the  eye  and  ear  together. 

Interpretation  of  Investigations. 

In  the  four  investigations  already  referred  to,  between 
five  and  six  thousand  children  have  been  tested,  and  al- 
tho  for  the  sake  of  greater  accuracy  and  the  further  veri- 
fication of  the  data  collected,  full  reports  of  those  inves- 
tigations will  not  be  made  for  some  time  to  come,  yet 
some  of  the  conclusions  may  be  set  forth  for  guidance  in 
teaching  spelling.  In  two  of  those  studies  the  interpre- 
tation of  the  returns  is  so  different  from  the  conclusions 
reached  in  the  Sioux  City  investigation  as  to  warrant,  in 
the  interest  of  pedagogy,  not  only  an  examination  of  those 
conclusions,  but  to  question  in  some  degree  the  fundar 
mental  proposition  underlying  that  investigation. 

The  auditory  tests  in  the  Sioux  City  investigation  were 
made  by  naming  each  letter  of  the  meaningless  combin- 
ations spoken  of,  and  then  directing  pupils  to  write  down 
the  letters  of  the  word  in  the  order  given. 

The  visual  tests  were  made  by  exposing  each  word,  prin- 
ted in  large  letters  upon  a  card.  Upon  removal  of  the 
card,  the  word  printed  thereon  was  written  down  by  the 
pupils. 

For  the  au do- visual  test,  the  pupils  named  in  concert 
each  letter  of  the  word  from  the  printed  card  held  be- 
fore them,  after  which  the  command  was  given  to  write. 

In  the  tabulation  of  the  returns  the  averages  resulting 


THE  SPELLING  QUESTION.  5 

therefrom  were  as  follows :  for  the  auditory  test  44.8 — ^ 
for  the  visual  test  66.2i  and  for  the  audo- visual  test  73.7-'. 
It  will  be  noticed  that  the  lowest  percentage  of  the  letters 
recalled  was  by  the  auditory  test ;  that  with  the  visual 
test  21.4  ^  more  letters  were  recalled ;  and  that  when  the 
auditory  test  and  the  visual  were  combined,  7.6  i  more 
letters  were  recalled  than  by  the  visual  alone,  and  29i 
more  than  by  the  auditory  test. 

The  conclusion  drawn  from  these  percentages  was  stated 
in  the  following  words  :  "  This  seemed  to  point  to  the 
conclusion  that  to  the  average  pupil  the  appeal  in  spelling 
should  be  made  chiefly  to  the  eye." 

Do  not  the  percentages  resulting  from  the  three  kinds 
of  test,  I  wish  to  inquire,  seem  rather  to  indicate  that  the 
appeal  should  be  made  to  that  combination  of  powers  which 
gives  the  highest  percentage  of  correct  results,  viz.,  the 
audo-visual?  If  an  appeal  to  the  eye  and  the  ear  together 
gives  7.6  per  cent,  better  returns,  than  an  appeal  to  the 
eye  alone,  how  can  it  be  reasoned  that  the  appeal  should 
be  made  chiefly  to  the  eye? 

But  an  important  factor  is  overlooked  if  the  audo-visual 
test  which  was  given  to  the  seven  hundred  and  forty- 
three  pupils  in  Sioux  City  is  regarded  merely  as  a  test  of 
eye  and  ear  combined.  That  important  factor  is  the  motor 
apparatus  which  operates  in  speech. 

Appeal  to  Several  Senses. 

Learning  to  spell  is  largely  a  matter  of  association,  and, 
therefore,  in  teaching  spelling  the  more  sense  avenues  from 
which  elements  may  be  complicated,  the  stronger  are  the 
resulting  associations  formed  and  the  more  easily  will 
those  associations  rise  under  call,  for  the  simple  reason 
that  there  are  more  clues  for  their  revival.  The  greater 
the  number  of  com.plicated  elements,  the  easier  will  the 
association  lise  in  consciousness  under  recall  and  the 


6  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION. 

easier  will  it  be  to  hold  it  there  for  reproduction.  The 
greater  part  of  the  difference  of  7.6  ^  between  the  visual 
and  the  audo- visual  tests  I  should  rather  be  inclined  to 
regard  as  representing  a  gain  contributed  by  the  motor 
apparatus  of  speech  which  was  employed  in  the  audo-visual 
test.  In  this  audo-visual  test,  or  to  name  the  test  cor- 
rectly— the  visual-auditory-motor  test — the  eye,  the  ear, 
and  the  motor  speech  appa.atus  are  working  almost  sim- 
ultaneously and  in  harmony.  Can  there  be  any  question 
that  under  such  conditions  the  proper  association  of 
letters  in  words  is  nob  stronger  than  by  the  use  of  only 
one  or  two  of  the  senses  involved  ? 

In  one  of  the  four  investigations  already  referred  to, 
over  2,000  children  were  tested  with  nonsense  combina- 
tions of  from  three  to  ten  letters  in  length.  In  the  first 
part  of  the  investigation  140  visual  presentations  of  these 
were  made.  From  thirty  to  forty  pupils  were  tested  at 
a  time,  and  the  tests  were  so  divided  as  to  make  no  fa- 
tiguing demands  upon  the  pupils.  Each  child  wrote  down 
what  he  could  recall  of  the  140  printed  cards  held  up  be- 
fore him  for  a  given  length  of  time.  The  pupils  were  re- 
quested not  to  move  their  lips  when  looking  at  the  com- 
binations ;  and  altho  we  impressed  upon  them  as  strongly 
as  we  could  that  they  must  not  use  their  lips,  we  found 
that  tho  they  started  out  with  very  commendable  effort 
not  to  do  this,  they  would  soon  lapse  into  the  use  of  their 
lips.  When  another  strong  appeal  not  to  use  the  lips 
was  made,  many  cases  came  under  our  obseiTation  of 
children  who,  while  inhibiting  the  use  of  their  lips,  were 
moving  their  hands  or  a  finger  as  if  telling  off  the  letters 
silently.  After  repeated  observations  by  those  who  assis- 
ted in  making  the  tests,  the  conclusion  was  reached  that 
at  least  ninety  per  cent,  of  all  the  children  tested  lapsed  into 
aiding  thenf^.selves  by  using  their  lips — unless  strorgly  ap- 


THE  SPELLING  QUESTION.  7 

pealed  to  when  each  combination  was  held  up.  This  laps- 
ing, moreover,  occurred  in  schools  where  the  spelling  had 
been  taught  almost  wholly  by  appealing  to  the  eye.  So 
strong  a  tendency  as  this  to  use  a  motor  accompaniment 
is  significant  in  suggesting  that  the  motor  speech  appar- 
atus be  turned  to  use  in  learning  to  spell,  not  that  it  be  re- 
pressed, thus  making,  I  believe,  additional  difficulties  not 
only  for  the  pupil  but  also  for  the  teacher. 
Oral  Spelling. 
Spelling  is  a  very  arbitrary  matter,  and  jrields  to  but 
slight  extent  to  the  logical  and  causal  helps  which  are 
employed  in  teaching  other  subjects.  Motor  elements 
are  important  elements  in  association,  and  with  so  arbi- 
trary a  subject  as  English  spelling  every  aid  in  strength- 
ening the  association  should  be  employed.  From  the  ex- 
periments made  and  the  verification  of  the  conclusions  in 
actual  school  application,  I  am  convinced  that  the  motor 
apparatus  used  in  speech  should  be  employed  to  a  large 
extent  in  teaching  spelling.  All  preparation  of  words  to 
be  written  should  be  oral  preparation,  and  very  careful 
preparation  at  that,  particularly  in  the  second,  third, 
fourth,  fifth,  and  sixth  school  years.  Writing  should  be  the 
final  test,  but  only  after  careful  preparation  orally.  And 
in  that  preparation  the  letters  should  be  grouped  into  syl- 
lables and  the  syllables  pronounced  according  to  the 
method  of  a  generation  or  two  ago.  The  poor  results  now 
so  common  in  spelling  w^ould  thereby  be  greatly  bettered. 
In  the  end,  time  would  be  gained,  and  the  pupil  rendered 
better  able  to  help  himself.  The  method  of  leading  the 
pupil  to  grasp  the  word  as  a  whole  thru  the  eye  has  made 
confused  spellers  of  large  numbers  of  children.  With 
some,  however,  it  has  produced  excellent  results. 

The  tests  show  that  in  the  appeal   to  the  eye  many 
children  seized  the  first  and   the  last  letters   of    the 


8  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION. 

word,  but  left  out  some  of  the  middle  letters  or  mixed 
these. 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  the  naming  of  the  three,  four, 
or  five  letters,  as  the  case  may  be,  that  constitute  a  syl- 
lable, and  then  attaching  a  name  to  these  grouped  letters, 
thus  binding  them  into  a  small  unity,  would  aid  the  pupil 
to  a  remarkable  degree.  The  putting  of  these  small 
unities  together  into  the  larger  word  unity,  gives  the 
pupil  a  synthetic  power  to  this  end  and  makes  his 
progress  more  rapid  and  easy  on  the  long  road  he  must 
traverse  in  learning  to  spell. 

But  this  is  a  return  to  an  old  method,  it  will  be  re^ 
marked.  It  is  taking  what  was  good  from  an  old  method 
and  using  it  as  a  part  of  a  broader  and  better  method 
than  is  now  generally  employed  in  our  schools.  Written 
spelling  is  not  to  be  neglected,  but  it  is  to  come  last,  after 
careful  oral  preparation. 

The  Method  of  Written  Spelling  Questioned. 

For  the  last  two  decades  or  more  this  method  has  been 
almost  wholly  repudiated  as  an  aid  in  learning  to  spell* 
The  false  notion  that  the  eye  is  the  avenue  to  which  to 
appeal  in  teaching  spelling  began  to  obtain  at  that  time  a 
very  firm  hold  upon  the  minds  of  teachers.  Institute  lec- 
turers made  strong  efforts  to  inculcate  this  idea  and  their 
efforts  met  with  large  success.  As  much  greater  power 
was  imputed  to  the  eye  in  this  regard,  than  it  actually  has, 
the  time  devoted  to  learning  to  spell  naturally  became 
shortened,  and  the  spelling  lesson  passed  from  the  place 
of  prominence  in  the  program  of  work  to  a  place  of  subor- 
dinate importance,  and  quite  generally  the  spelling  lesson 
was  merely  the  writing  of  words  selected  from  the  read- 
ing lessons,  with  repeated  drill  in  writing  upon  words  in- 
correctly spelled. 

The  larger  knowledge  which  has  resulted  from  the  great 


THE  SPELLING  QUESTION.  9 

development  of  psychological  study  of  recent  years  leads  us 
to  see  that  the  teachers  of  a  generation  and  a  half  ago  were 
not  so  wholly  wrong  after  all  in  their  teaching  of  spelling. 
They  were  right  as  far  as  they  went,  but  they  did  not  go 
far  enough.  Those  who  repudiated  the  old  method  and 
m.ade  the  appeal  almost  wholly  to  the  eye,  were  right  in 
holding  that  for  most  pupils  the  eye  is  a  stronger  sense 
avenue  of  appeal  than  the  ear  when  only  these  two  are 
considered.  But  the  motor  speech  apparatus  was  not  re- 
garded as  a  factor  in  the  matter. 

It  is  true  that  in  testing  any  hundred  pupils  according 
to  the  methods  which  are  supposed  to  determine  whether 
they  are  eye-minded  or  ear-minded,  we  shall  find  a  large 
percentage  of  the  hundred  eye-minded  and  only  a  small 
percentage  markedly  ear-minded.  But  it  will  also  be  found 
that  a  very  large  percentage  will  give  good  returns  to  the 
tests  for  determining  eye-mindedness  and  also  to  the 
tests  for  determining  ear-mindedness,  with  the  returns 
usually  in  favor  of  the  test  for  eye-mindedness.  In  every 
grade  of  pupils,  it  must  be  remembered,  such  differences 
wiU  be  found.  The  method  in  teaching  spelling  should 
therefore  be  broad  enough  to  appeal  fully  to  these  differing 
aptitudes  in  different  pupils  and  also  broad  enough  to 
appeal  to  those  pupils  in  which  these  aptitudes  are  more 
nearly  balanced.  The  method  already  suggested  is  broad 
enough  to  make  this  varied  appeal. 

In  the  article  giving  account  of  the  Sioux  City  investL 
gation  the  opinion  was  also  advanced  that  accurate  ob- 
servation should  have  some  bearing  upon  correct  spelling. 
Tests  were  also  made  in  the  Sioux  City  investigation  upon 
149  good  spellers  and  149  poor  spellers  to  see  which  were 
the  best  observers  when  ten  different  articles  were  exposed 
at  the  same  time  to  each  pupil  and  the  pupils  afterward 
asked  to  write  the  names  of  the  objects.    Because  it  was 


10  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION. 

found  that  the  good  spellers  were  the  best  observers,  it 
cannot  be  inferred  from  such  a  test  that  poor  spelling  "is 
largely  due  to  inability  to  picture  the  word  correctly  and 
promptly  in  the  mind's  eye."  Good  spellers  are  good  ob- 
servers as  a  rule  because  they  possess  better  all-round 
mental  capacity  than  poor  spellers.  Our  tests  showed  us 
that  the  poor  spellers  in  their  power  to  learn  to  spell  new 
words  were  from  a  year  to  a  year  and  a  half  behind  the 
good  spellers,  taking,  of  course,  children  of  the  same  age. 
Training  the  power  of  observation  thru  nature  study  has 
been  recommended  as  aiding  the  pupil  in  learning  to 
spell.  Such  a  recommendation  has  no  warrantable  founda- 
tion, and  its  employment  would  prove  of  little  if  any 
specific  value  in  aiding  the  pupil  to  spell ;  nor  will  efforts 
made  to  develop  the  so-called  eye-mindedness  avail  much. 
Spelling  is  largely  a  matter  of  association,  and  the  eye, 
the  ear,  and  the  motor  must  be  appealed  to  so  as  to  pro- 
duce the  strongest  complication  of  sensory  elements. 
Care  then  in  the  right  kind  of  oral  preparation,  with  con- 
siderable oral  test  before  writing,  training  pupils  to  build 
up  words  by  using  the  sm.all  unities  into  which  words  can 
be  divided,  is  a  method  of  teaching  spelling  productive  of 
the  best  all-round  results. 


Hhc  6s8cntial3  of  english    Composition 
for  BUmentary  Schools. 

NDER  the  essentials  of  English  composi- 
tion for  elementary  schools  I  shall  com- 
prehend every  means  that  contributes  to 
give  a  pupil  the  fullest  and  freest  com- 
mand of  English  it  is  possible  to  give  in 
the  elementary  school.  More  can  be  done,  I  am  confident, 
than  has  yet  been  generally  attained  in  this  direction. 
The  error  of  the  past  has  been  the  loss  of  time  and  the 
waste  of  effort  in  teaching  English  from  its  formal  phase, 
and  largely  as  an  end  in  itself. 

Correct  Spelling. 
The  first  essential  of  English  composition  to  be  secured 
in  the  elementry  school  is  correct  spelling.  There  is 
abundant  evidence  on  every  hand  to  show  that  the 
method  generally  pursued  to-day  in  teaching  spelling  is 
a  method  which  does  not  give  satisfactory  results.  Some 
spelling  can,  of  course,  be  taught  incidentally,  but  in  so 
difficult  and  arbitrary  a  matter  as  English  spelling  a  de- 
finite time  must  be  set  apart  for  it  in  the  school-program, 
when  spelling  shall  be  pursued  as  a  regular  exercise. 

The  first  point  to  be  considered  in  this  connection  is 
the  gradation  of  words.  The  plan  of  leaving  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  teacher  the  selection  of  words  for  her  grade 
is  altogether  too  haphazard  a  one.     This  plan  may,  to 


12  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION. 

some  extent,  be  permitted,  but  it  ought  not  to  be  used 
exclusively,  for  under  such  conditions  there  is  very 
little  guidance  as  to  the  vocabulary,  that  is,  its  extent,  or 
what  range  of  words  shall  be  given  in  the  various  grades. 
With  such  a  plan,  it  is  difficult  to  know  what  the  omis- 
sions are.  I  believe,  therefore,  in  a  carefully-selected 
list  of  words,  suited  to  the  various  school  grades.  Such 
a  list  could  be  determined  very  easily  in  any  school  system 
by  simple  investigation.  There  are,  I  believe,  words 
that  may  best  be  learned  in  the  second  grade  and  words 
that  should  be  learned  in  the  fifth  grade,  and  so  on  for 
the  various  grades.  A  list  of  this  kind  would  include 
words  which  children  are  likely  to  miss,  and  words  which 
may  be  easiest  acquired  in  the  various  grade  periods  of 
school  life.  Such  a  list  would  constitute  the  best  kind  of 
spelling  book,  and,  one  moreover,  which  ought  to  be  m.ade 
by  every  system  of  schools.  In  the  absence  of  such  a 
list  T  stand  for  a  spelling  book  and  regular  work  in  it, 
using  this  book,  of  course,  in  such  a  way  as  to  connect 
the  spelling  lessons  closely  with  the  demands  of  the  other 
work  in  language. 

But  after  we  have  determined  the  collection  of  words, 
a  question  of  great  importance  is  the  way  the  pupil  is  to 
be  led  to  learn  those  words.  The  appeal  to  the  eye  in 
learning  to  spell,  which  supplanted  an  old  method  growing 
out  of  the  best  judgment  of  decades  of  repeated  test  by 
schoolmasters,  is  a  method  which  the  best  pedagogy  of 
to-day  cannot  sanction  as  a  complete  method  of  teaching 
spelling.  If  we  are  to  obtain  better  results  in  spelling — 
that  which  I  put  as  the  first  essential  of  the  elements  of 
English  composition — we  must  adopt  some  of  the  wisdom 
which  showed  itself  in  the  method  of  the  old  schoolmas- 
ter, and  which  we  for  the  past  generation  and  a  half  have 
thrown  aside.     If  we  require  the  pupil,  in  learning  new 


COMPOSITION  FOR  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS.   13 

words,  to  study  these  first  orally,  pronouncing  each  word 
at  the  start,  then  each  syllable  and  the  syllables  cumu- 
latively, and  ending  with  the  pronunciation  of  the  whole 
word,  we  are  appealing  to  more  avenues  of  mental  ap- 
proach, and  are,  therefore,  making  easier  and  firmer  the 
network  of  associations  out  of  which  that  word  is  to  rise 
when  the  pupil  summons  it.  In  such  a  way,  we  are  appeal- 
ing to  the  eye,  to  the  ear,  and  to  that  part  of  the  motor  me- 
chanism which  is  connected  with  speech.  We  have  here, 
then,  the  aid  of  three  strong  sensory  avenues  instead  of 
one  ;  as,  for  instance,  when  we  make  the  appeal  to  the 
eye.  After  the  pupil  has  prepared  his  lesson  in  this  man- 
ner, we  may  then  bring  in  the  written  practice  upon  this 
basis  of  preparation,  and  employ  again  the  eye  and  com- 
bine with  this  the  motor  mechanism  which  lies  in  the 
hand  and  arm. 

Some  one  will  say  that  such  oral  preparation,  namely, 
first  the  distinct  pronunciation  of  the  word,  then  spelling 
it  by  syllables,  pronouncing  distinctly  each  syllable,  and 
pronouncing  the  syllables  cumulatively,  and  then  pro- 
nouncing the  word  as  a  whole  at  the  end,  is  very  slow  and 
tedious  work.  And  yet,  there  is  economy  in  it ;  great 
economy,  for  not  only  are  the  associations  more  firmly 
and  more  quickly  built  up  in  this  way,  not  only  are  we 
putting  into  the  pupil's  possession  a  power  to  analyze 
new  words,  into  their  syllabic  components,  and  to 
center  his  attention  upon  the  few  elements  which,  in 
the  new  word,  differ  from  any  word  he  has  previously 
le.arned — a  matter  of  great  economy  in  itself — but  we  are 
aiding  him  in  reading  and  giving  him  the  best  possible 
practice  in  clear  and  distinct  articulation  and  pronuncia- 
tion, a  matter  now  considerably  neglected  in  our  schools. 

If  we  would  give  the  vocal  organs  training,  we  must  give 
them  work  to   do  in  clear  and  exact  articulation  and 


14  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION, 

enunciation.  There  is  no  other  exercise  in  the  school- 
room comparable  to  this  oral  preparation  of  spelling 
lessons  and  the  pronunciation  of  each  syllable  in  the  man- 
ner which  I  have  indicated  to  secure  these  most  desirable 
results.  With  such  a  method  I  believe  that  very  little  time 
would  need  to  be  given  to  spelling  in  the  seventh 
and  eighth  years  of  the  grammar  grades — the  time 
when  it  is  generally  found  so  necessary  to  spend  as 
much  time  as  possible  in  spelling  drill.  Thus,  time  may 
be  saved  in  those  grades  to  devote  to  the  rules  for  spell, 
ing  and  to  the  etymology  of  words.  Etymology  should 
not,  however,  be  taken  up  in  the  routine  and  uninteresting 
manner  so  common,  and  which  calls  for  not  much  else 
than  sheer,  dull  effort  in  verbal  memory.  It  should  be 
treated  in  connection  with  composition,  and  should  serve 
to  add  variety  to  the  pupil's  language  study.  To  lead  in- 
to this,  begin  with  words  with  some  point  of  interest  in 
their  history,  or  those  words  whose  derivation  is  easy  to  be 
traced,  as :  Fort-night,  good-bye,  furlong,  topsy-turvy,  vol- 
cano, mountebank,  calculate,  astonished,  sincere,  trivial, 
capricious,  charlatan,  etc.,  and  then  gradually  work  out  to 
the  more  formal  analysis  of  words.  All  this  need  not  follow 
any  alphabetically  arranged  list  of  roots,  prefixes,  and 
suffixes,  but  advantage  should  be  taken  of  the  recurring 
occasions  when  the  pupil's  attention  may  be  directed  to 
words  that  become  the  center  of  opportune  interest.  By 
leading  the  pupil  to  seek  out  for  himself  the  connection 
of  thought,  and  also  to  trace  those  connections  in  analy- 
sis for  which  a  reason  may  be  given,  he  acquires  a  power 
to  help  himself,  and  an  interest  is  awakened,  because  more 
phases  of  mental  activity  are  thereby  aroused,  and  the 
study  lifted  out  of  dull,  spiritless,  mechanical  memory. 
Feeling  for  English. 
The  second  essential  to  be  secured  is  what  I  may  term 


COMPOSITION  FOR  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS.   15 

"feeling  for  English."  If  I  were  required  to  make  a 
choice  between  technical  knowledge  of  English  and  what 
I  may  term  "feeling  for  English,"  I  should  unhesitat- 
ingly choose  the  latter.  This  "  feeling  for  English  "  is  a 
subtle  sense,  transcending  psychological  analysis,  and 
leading  those  who  possess  it  to  use  English  with  an  ap- 
preciation of  the  true  spirit  of  the  language.  How,  then, 
shall  we  develop  in  pupils  this  "  feeling  for  English "  ? 
We  may  do  this  by  giving  them  selections  from  the  mas- 
ters of  English  literature,  and  requiring  that  these  selec- 
tions be  learned  by  heart,  so  that  pupils  may  be  able  to 
repeat  them,  and  to  transcribe  them  :  In  every  grade  from 
the  first  school  year  thru  the  eighth  school  year,  certain 
standard  poems,  selected  with  reference  to  the  emotional 
status  and  intellectual  appreciation  of  the  pupil,  should 
be  memorized.  At  the  very  least,  half  a  dozen  poems 
for  each  year.  Children  derive  pleasure  from  learning 
and  repeating  the  best  literature,  as  it  meets  a  natural 
want  in  satisfjring  their  sense  of  rhythmic  expression. 
They  may  not  recall  all  this  literature  in  later  years,  but 
it  leaves  behind  it  that  subtle  esthetic  sense  of  "  feeling 
for  English." 

The  selections  of  the  pieces  which  are  to  be  memorized 
involves  a  very  large  and  a  very  important  question, 
namely,  their  ethical  import ;  but  that  is  a  question  aside 
from  the  purpose  of  this  article.  There  should  be,  then, 
for  each  grade,  a  certain  number  of  carefully  selected 
poems  which  each  pupil  should  memorize,  and  with  such  a 
degree  of  perfection  that  he  could  rise  and  repeat  the 
poem  or  take  pen  and  paper  and  transcribe  it  correctly  as 
to  spelling,  punctuation,  capitals,  and  form. 

In  the  sixth,  seventh  and  eighth  school  years  pupils 
should  be  given  an  opportunity  to  choose  from  a  small 
collection  the  poems  they  would  prefer  to  memorize.    For 


16  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION. 

instance,  if  six  poems  were  required  of  each  pupil  in  any 
of  these  years,  twelve  poems  should  be  given  him  to  read 
and  select  his  quota  from  in  the  sixth  school  year,  eigh- 
teen poems  in  the  seventh  year,  and  twenty-four  in  the 
eighth  school  year.  The  object  of  this  plan  is  to  provide 
for  the  child's  individuality  of  choice  as  influenced  by  his 
individuality  of  experience,  and  by  his  individuality  of 
emotional  tone. 

But  poems  in  themselves  are  not  sufiicient  to  develop 
this  "  feeling  for  English."  Many  of  our  courses  of  study 
furnish  lists  of  poems  that  are  to  be  memorized  in  the 
several  grades,  but  I  do  not  recall  a  course  of  study  where 
excerpts  of  fine  prose  are  required  to  be  memorized.  In 
the  days  of  a  generation  ago  this  "feeling  for  English" 
was  developed  by  those  splendid  selections  of  oratory 
which  boys  were  required  to  memorize  and  speak  at  the 
rhetorical  exercises  then  periodically  held.  We  must  not 
forget,  in  the  multitude  of  newer  things  pressing  upon 
our  attention,  all  the  good  in  the  past.  Hence,  there 
should  be  provided  in  each  grade  a  number  of  prose  se- 
lections suited  to  the  understanding  and  capacity  of  the 
pupils,  each  a  unit  in  itself.  The  pupils  should  memorize 
these  excepts  so  as  to  be  able  to  repeat  them  orally,  or  to 
transcribe  them,  as  has  been  recommended  with  reference 
to  the  poems. 

Principles  and  Usages  of  Composition. 

The  third  essential  is  this  :  The  formularization  of  the 
principles  and  usages  of  English  composition  shall  come 
to  the  pupil  by  easy  inference  after  abundant  exercises  in 
the  use  of  English,  and  not  be  forced  upon  him  by  defi- 
nitions, illustrated  by  a  few  formal  examples. 

What  is  needed  is  ability  to  use  English  well,  and  not 
principally  an  acquaintance  with  its  formal  aspects. 

The  regarding  of  the  formularies  of  composition  as  the 


COMPOSITION  FOR  ELEMENT AR  Y  SCHOOLS.   17 

principal  thing,  and  the  inability  to  see  the  larger  thing, 
the  real  thing,  to  which  the  formularistic  statements 
must  ever  be  secondary  is  where  the  cause  of  our  failure 
in  teaching  English  lies. 

Most  text-books,  official  syllabi,  and  examinations  em- 
phasize the  formal  aspects  of  composition,  instead  of 
showing  how  they  may  be  subordinated.  The  teacher  is 
thus  misled,  and  her  attention  directed  to  these  things 
as  the  end  of  her  teaching.  And  it  is  not  at  all  sur- 
prising that  she  comes  at  length  to  rest  in  the  opinion 
that  the  ablity  of  her  pupils  to  set  forth  these  things 
in  examination  is  the  test  and  proof  of  her  success  in 
teaching.  My  objection,  the  reader  will  recognize,  is  not 
a  new  one.  These  formularistic  statements  and  the  ex- 
amples used  to  illustrate  them  become  ends  and  are  pur- 
sued as  ends,  and  thus  the  teaching  of  composition 
becomes  dry  and  barren  of  results. 

The  fundamental  requisite,  then,  from  first  to  last,  in 
the  teaching  of  English  composition  in  the  elementary 
school  is  abundant  and  continued  expression  of  the  pupil's 
thought  and  feeling  growing  out  of  some  activity,  some 
experience,  some  observation,  some  intercourse,  some  im- 
aginative construction,  on  the  part  of  the  pupil. 

What  is  to  be  insisted  on,  then,  is  some  positive 
underlying  content  in  the  pupil's  mind  which  he  is  led  to 
express  either  in  oral  or  in  written  language,  and  out  of 
this  expression  all  the  formal  aspects  of  composition  are 
to  issue.  The  formularies  are  not  to  be  omitted.  They 
do  not,  however,  lead  the  way ;  they  are  not  the  impor- 
tant ends,  but  are  subordinated  to  the  real  thing,  the  es- 
sential thing,  that  is,  something  expressed. 

Upon  this  expresions,  as  a  basis,  we  may  teach  the  more 
obvious  grammatical  and  rhetorical  matters  incidentally 
In  the  lower  grades  many  phases  of  capitalization  and 


18  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION. 

punctuation,  the  formation  of  plurals,  possessive  cases, 
the  forms  of  comparison,  correct  forms  of  verbs,  etc.,  etc., 
may  be  taught,  the  teacher  shaping  the  composition  ex- 
ercises so  that  sufficient  opportunities  shall  arise  to  reveal 
to  the  pupil  the  necessity  for  such  knowledge,  and  also  to 
give  him  sufficient  practice  in  using  it  correctly.  Dicta- 
tion exercises  may  be  employed  as  one  means  of  giving 
practice  in  correct  forms,  but  each  piece,  so  dictated, 
should  be  some  composition  exercise  which  the  class  as  a 
whole  has  criticised,  corrected,  and  amended.  Each  pu- 
pil has,  then,  some  special  interest  in  it  and  in  its  correct 
reproduction. 

Letter  writing,  to  be  taken  up  toward  the  end  of  the 
third  school  year,  will  also  afford  another  means  toward 
the  accomplishment  of  the  ends  just  mentioned.  Here, 
however,  care  must  be  exercised,  that  there  shall  be  con- 
tent in  the  pupil's  mind  before  he  is  required  to  compose 
a  letter.  Business  letters  first,  which  are  orders,  then  the 
replies  to  these ;  next  may  follow  letters  of  inquiry,  of 
direction,  of  application,  of  information,  etc.,  thus  gradu- 
ally enlarging  the  scope  to  letters  of  friendship,  invitation, 
acknowledgment,  etc. 

I  have  insisted  that  in  all  composition  work  there 
shall  be  content  in  the  pupil's  mind  when  he  is  asked  to 
compose  ;  in  other  words  that  bricks  shall  not  be  required 
without  straw. 

Fortunately,  to-day,  nature  study  and  science  work  fur- 
nish something  tangible  and  near  at  hand  for  the  pupil 
to  express  ;  and  therefore  as  much  composition  writing  as 
possible  should  grow  out  of  nature  study  and  science  work. 
History  study  may  also  be  used  to  this  end. 

While,  however,  the  pupil  easily  finds  something  to  say 
when  required  to  write  out  his  observations  and  knowl- 
edge gained  from  nature  study  and  science  work,  we 


COMPOSITION  FOR  ELEMENT AR  Y  SCHOOLS.   19 

must  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  even  with  a  great 
amount  of  such  writing  he  would  remain  deficient  in  skill 
and  a  knowledge  of  certain  important  matters  of  English. 

By  writing  out  descriptions  of  his  observations  in  nature 
study  and  of  his  experiments  in  science,  he  learns  to  ar- 
range his  thoughts  ;  to  analyze  out  more  fully  his  vague 
general  ideas ;  he  enlarges  his  vocabulary,  and  he  acquires 
facility  in  setting  forth  his  thought. 

But  to  lead  the  pupil  thru  this  kind  of  composition  to 
an  appreciation  of  sequence  and  transition  of  thought  as 
affected  thru  sentence  construction,  and  to  lead  him  thru 
this  kind  of  writing  to  an  appreciation  of  literary  fonn 
and  unity,  would  prove  a  most  diiEcult  undertaking  ;  and 
to  seek  to  accomplish  this  upon  nature  study  and  science 
composition  would  be  to  disregard  a  law  of  mental  econ- 
omy.    Mental  economy  points  out  a  different  plan. 

The  appreciation  of  literary  form  and  unity,  and  a 
knowledge  of  the  various  ways  that  language  may  be  em- 
ployed to  secure  sequence,  transition,  and  connection  of 
thought,  is  best  attained  by  reading  to  pupils  well  chosen 
literary  selections  within  their  appreciation  and  under- 
standing, and  then  calling  for  the  reproduction  of  these, 
sometimes  orally,  but  principally  in  writing,  especially  in 
the  higher  grades.  Such  reproduction  exercises  should 
be  given  in  the  third  school  year  and  be  continued  in  each 
succeeding  year.  There  is,  however,  one  danger  to  be 
guarded  against  in  this,  and  that  is  a  haphazard  and  un- 
skilled choice  of  selections.  Here  pedagogical  insight 
is  most  requisite.  That  so  little  use  has  been  made  of 
the  reproduction  is  due  to  the  difficulty  of  finding  proper 
selections.  Permit  me  to  remark,  however,  that  these 
may  be  found,  and  they  may  be  found  in  number  and 
variety  sufficient. 

The  use  of  the  written  reproduction  will  afford  excel- 


20  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION, 

lent  opportunity  for  the  careful  treatment  of  the  para- 
graph ;  not  with  reference  to  a  definitive,  formal  treat- 
ment of  what  the  paragraph  is,  and  the  rules  for  the  for- 
mation of  paragraphs,  but  a  knowledge  of  how  to  shape 
and  constitute  a  paragraph  in  writing. 
Technical  Grammar. 

The  next  essential  is  a  knowledge  of  the  grammatical 
analysis  of  sentences— this  leading  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  parts  of  speech  and  the  grammatical  rules  for  their 
collocation.  Good  English  may  be  acquired  without  a 
knowledge  of  technical  grammar,  but  there  is  no  plan 
yet  at  hand  to  guide  teachers  in  securing  such  a  result ; 
and  were  there  one  a  longer  time  would  be  needed  to  give 
the  pupil  a  reliable  knowledge  of  correct  forms  of  English 
than  is  required  when  grammatical  analysis  and  grammat- 
ical collocation  of  the  part  of  speech  are  taught.  One  who 
has  a  knowledge  of  the  grammatical  structure  of  language 
possesses  many  advantages  over  one  who  has  not  this  knowl- 
edge, tho  the  latter  may  use  English  with  a  fair  degree 
of  correctness.  I  need  not  enter  here  into  a  discussion 
of  the  educational  value  of  the  study  of  grammar.  Its 
educational  value  alone  would  entitle  it  to  a  place  in  the 
elementary  school  curriculum,  even  if  it  did  not  equip 
the  pupil  with  knowledge  directly  available  in  the  use  of 
English. 

The  study  of  grammatical  analysis  may  well  be  begun 
in  the  sixth  school  year  and  carried  on  thru  the  seventh 
and  eighth  years.  In  this  grammatical  analysis,  it  is  far 
better  not  to  put  into  the  pupil's  hands  an  elementary 
grammar,  with  sentences  selected  from  all  the  four  wind- 
of  literature  and  the  remainder  made  to  order — a  collec- 
tion of  detached  sentences  which  the  pupil  cannot  relate 
to  any  piece  of  literature.  Every  sentence  set  before 
the  pupil  should  be  the  expression  of  some  thought  he 


COMPOSITION  FOR  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  21 

has  before  met  in  some  literary  production  studied  by  him. 
Each  sentence,  then,  relates  to  some  whole  which  has 
stirred  the  pupil's  feelings  and  given  him  new  ideas  and 
new  experiences,  and  he  recognizes,  therefore,  what 
thought  in  that  whole  and  what  shading  in  that  thought 
the  sentence  set  before  him  serves  to  express.  Every  sen- 
tence he  deals  with  tends,  therefore,  to  draw  after  it 
some  fraction  of  the  tide  of  feeling  aroused  by  the  study 
of  the  literary  production.  The  detached  sentence  carries 
no  such  substrate  with  it.  Herein  is  one  way  to  interest ; 
for  one  phase  of  interest  is  the  pleasureable  tone  of  the 
mind  in  the  exercisa  of  its  activity. 

The  first  work  in  analysis  might  be  based  upon  one  of 
the  selections  for  literary  study  read  in  sixth-year 
classes.  The  sentences  could  be  taken  from  this  and 
some  sentences  might,  if  necessity  required,  be  slightly 
adapted.  It  is  not  necessary  to  begin  with  such  absurdly 
simple  and  unattractive  sentences  as,  Bells  ring.  Dogs 
bark.  The  pupil  can  easily  deal  with  sentences  of  some 
length,  and  can  understand  the  office  of  a  group  of  words 
amounting  even  to  a  clause,  when  used  as  a  modifier,  as 
easily  as  beginning  with  modifiers  of  one  word.  In  other 
words,  he  may  be  led  as  the  principle  of  economy  would 
suggest,  to  deal  with  sentences  of  usual  length,  as  to  sub- 
ject and  predicate,  to  deal  almost  at  once  with  the  three 
forms  in  which  the  modifier  occurs,  as  word,  phrase,  or 
clause,  and  in  the  same  manner  with  the  direct  object ; 
and  so  gradually  extending  the  analysis.  Of  course  the 
order  is  not  the  order  of  the  text-books,  but  it  is  a  ped- 
agogical order. 

The  method  to  be  employed  in  unfolding  this  gram- 
matical knowledge  is  that  of  the  skilful  questioning  of 
the  living  teacher.  It  is  to  be  principally  analytic,  rather 
than  descriptive. 


22  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION. 

Variety  of  Expressions  and  Incorrect  English. 

Now,  while  the  knowledge  of  grammatical  structure  is 
growing,  not  upon  detached  sentences,  but  upon  sen- 
tences taken  from  some  literary  whole  that  the  pupils 
have  studied,  the  rhetorical  positions  of  the  elements  of 
a  sentence  may  be  treated.  These  two  t  lings,  then, 
grammatical  structure  and  rhetorical  positions,  may  be 
closely  interrelated  and  the  one  made  to  aid  the  other. 
Side  by  side  with  grammatical  analysis  may  be  taken  up 
variety  of  expression  ;  as,  for  instance,  the  transforming 
of  an  infinitive  to  a  participle,  a  participle  to  a  clause,  re- 
placing the  active  form  by  the  passive,  an  imperative 
mood  by  the  conditional,  a  clause  by  an  infinitive,  and  so 
on.  Variety  of  sentence  form  may  also  be  interrelated 
with  the  development  of  a  knowledge  of  grammatical 
structure.  All  this  is  to  find  continued  application  in  the 
composition  exercises  which  go  forward  at  the  same 
time,  making  it  all  a  living  reality  to  the  pupil. 

As  soon  as  the  pupil's  knowledge  of  the  parts  of  speech 
and  of  their  modifications  and  their  relations  will  admit 
of  it,  I  should  bring  him  face  to  face  with  specimens  of 
incorrect  English  to  set  right,  giving  the  best  reasons 
therefore  that  may  be  adduced.  I  have  no  sympathy  with 
those  pseudo  psychologists,  who  hold  that  a  pupil  should  not 
see  an  incorrect  form.  Of  course  it  must  not  be  thought 
that  I  would  ft^  give  the  pupil  exaggerated  specimens  to 
puzzle  him  ;  but  specimens  of  incorrect  English  he  should 
deal  with  in  the  fashion  described. 

Literature  Study. 

The  literature  study  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  school 
years  upon  such  works  as  "  Snowbound,"  "  Evangeline," 
"  The  Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow,"  "Rip  Van  Winkle,"  and 
Webster's,  "  Bunker  Hill  Oration,"  etc.,  may  be  closely 


COMPOSITIO  N  FOR  ELEMENT AR  Y  SCHOOLS,  23 

interrelated  with  the  composition  writing,  affording  excell- 
ent opportunity  for  a  simple  study  of  diction. 

I  have  insisted  in  this  article  upon  the  actual  use  of 
English  in  writing,  and  a  great  deal  of  it,  instead  of  study 
upon  how  English  should  be  used,  or  how  it  may  be  used. 
Let  me,  in  closing,  add  one  qualification,  and  that  is  : 
At  no  point  shall  the  teaching  be  such  as  to  develop  a 
fatal  facility  to  use  words  at  the  expense  of  content  of 
mind  and  definiteness  of  thought. 


Cbc  Talue  of  the  JVlotor  Hctivitics  in 
6ducation. 

HE  physical  activity  of  children  is  a  fact 
attested  by  common  observation.  The 
valu3  of  physical  activity  in  the  education 
of  children  must  have  been  recognized  by 
Comenius,  as  this  recognition  seems  to  be 
implied  in  his  maxim,  "Learn  to  do  by 
doing,"  for  it  is  only  upon  the  knowledge  gained  thru 
recent  investigations  and  researches  that  we  are  able  to 
comprehend  the  import  of  the  Comenian  maxim.  "  Learn 
to  do  by  doing,"  has  been  controverted  from  the  time 
of  its  enunciation  by  Comenius  down  almost  to  the  present 
day.  It  has  been  discussed  pro  and  con,  and  little  new 
light  came  out  of  the  discussion.  The  disagreement  grew 
out  of  the  fact,  that  there  was  not  scientific  knowledge 
enough  to  interpret  the  maxim,  and  so  it  became  the  basis 
of  a  long  controversy.  Many  educators  all  the  while 
believed  in  the  maxim ;  others  repudiated  it.  But  to- 
day we  have  sufficient  knowledge  to  interpret  and  under- 
stand this  maxim,  and  to  remove  it  from  the  grounds 
where  controversy  has  so  long  found  it  necessary  to  detain 
it.  Its  import,  I  trust,  will  become,  in  part,  apparent  to 
the  reader  from  what  I  shall  try  to  state  concerning 
the  demands  of  tie  motor  activities  in  teaching.  I  shall 
be  able  to  put  before  the  reader  more  clearly  these  de- 


DEMANDS  OF  MOTOR  ACTIVITIES.         25 

mands,  and  how  the  motor  activities  aid  in  mental  devel- 
opment, if  I  ask  him  to  recall  the  mental  impressions  he 
has  received  when  his  observation  has  centered  upon  a 
child  in  the  few  weeks  following  its  birth. 

Impulsive  Movements. 

All  persons  have  noticed  the  physical  movements  of  a 
very  young  child.  These  movements  are  principally  of  two 
kinds,  and  they  are  to  be  distinguished  from  each  other  by 
the  way  in  which  they  are  initiated.  The  first  class  in- 
cludes those  movements  which  arise  from  some  cause 
solely  within  the  organism.  The  contractive  movements 
made  with  the  arms,  the  kicking  movements  made  with 
the  legs,  the  twistings  and  contortions  of  the  body  are  for 
the  most  part  movements  of  this  kind,  and  are  initiated 
by  the  discharge  of  nervous  force  from  the  lower  centers 
of  the  brain.  These  movements  are  not  directed  by  the 
child,  but  take  place  because  the  cells  in  the  centers  from 
which  the  impulses  start  become  filled  with  cell-material 
gathered,  of  course,  by  reason  of  the  nutritive  and  assi- 
milative processes.  When  these  cells  are  filled  they  un- 
dergo some  change,  because  they  have  reached  the  point 
of  fullness.  It  is  by  virtue  of  this  change  that  impulses 
to  muscular  action  are  sent  out  along  the  nerves  con- 
nected with  the  muscular  system.  In  all  this,  we  have 
the  building  up  of  the  cell,  and  then  its  breaking  down, 
or,  to  speak  in  other  words,  the  using  up  of  the  cell- 
material  according  to  some  rhythmic  and  mysterious  law 
of  nature.  Every  discharge  from  these  impulse  centers 
sets  into  activity  some  set  of  muscles,  and  as  soon  as  the 
muscles  act,  a  stimulus  is  returned  to  the  brain.  In  this 
manner  a  large  part  of  the  nervous  mechanism  of  the 
child,  which  at  this  period  is  relatively  simple  in  its  struc- 
ture, as  compared  with  the  nervous  mechanism  of  the 


26  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION. 

fully-developed  adult,  is  brought  into  action,  or  made  to 
function  in  a  normal  manner. 

Reflex  Movements. 

The  second  class  of  movements  constitute  those  which 
arise  from  some  cause  primarily  outside  the  organism  ; 
that  is,  from  external  stimulus.  For  instance,  when  a 
bright  light  is  brought  into  the  room  where  a  young  in- 
fant is  lying,  his  head  is  turned  toward  the  light  because 
of  the  stimulus  falling  upon  the  nerves  of  the  retina. 
There  are,  moreover,  m.ovements  resulting  from  sound, 
as  a  stimulus,  from  taste,  from  touch,  and  from  smell  as 
a  stimulus.  These  movements  are  due  to  the  effect  of 
stimulus  upon  the  organs  of  sense. 

Now  such  is  the  nature  of  the  nervous  mechanism  that 
its  extension  and  complexity  of  growth  are  aided  by  the 
very  means  which  nature  provides  in  muscular  move- 
ments. The  movements  not  only  include  the  two  kinds 
mentioned,  but  also  other  kinds,  as,  for  instance,  the 
instinctive  movements.  By  virtae  of  all  these  movements 
the  cells  undergo  modifications  of  development,  and  take 
on  a  deeper  complexity  of  structure  ;  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  cells  in  complexity  is  accompanie:!  by  the 
shooting  out  of  more  nerve  filaments  or  connections, 
or  as  some  neurologists  hold,  the  opening  up  of  connecting 
fibers,   which,   are    there  at  birth   but   not   developed. 

In  the  fully-matured  child  at  birth  the  centers  of  the 
impulses,  which  are  in  the  lower  part  of  the  brain,  and 
their  main  connections,  have  completed  their  develop- 
ment ;  but  in  the  cerebrum  only  a  comparatively  few  con- 
necting nerves  are  developed.  There  is  also  connection 
of  the  muscles,  and  a  few  sense  organs  with  the  central 
seat  of  consciousness.  This  central  seat  of  conscious- 
ness is  the  surface  layer  of  the  brain,  or  cortex.  In 
the  surface  layer  of  the  brain  are  located  the  centers 


DEMANDS  OF  MOTOR  ACTIVITIES.  27 

of  sight,  of  hearing,  of  touch,  of  taste,  and  of  smell, 
and  the  activity  of  each  of  the  centers  is  quite  apart, 
Flechsig  holds,  from  the  activity  in  any  other  center. 
In  other  words  these  centers  of  sense  are  each  of 
them  for  the  time  being  so  many  separate  seats  of  con- 
sciousness. As  the  child  grows,  and  the  nervous  mech- 
anism develops,  these  centers  begin  to  push  out  nerve  fila- 
ments toward  each  other,  or  to  develop  the  fibers  and 
filaments  already  there,  and  also  to  connect  themselves 
with  the  lower  regions  of  the  brain,  and  with  the  spinal 
marrow.  In  the  fully-developed  brain,  all  the  centers  of 
sense  are  connected,  and  eventuate  in  a  unitary  action  of 
all  of  them.  These  centers  of  sense  are  connected  with 
the  lower  centers,  and  later  certain  higher  centers  be- 
come developed,  whose  office  seems  to  be  to  control  the 
lower  centers.  The  control  over  the  lower  centers  comes 
very  slowly  and  the  gradual  acquii-ement  of  control  over 
these  is  one  of  the  immediate  ends  to  be  attained  in  ed- 
ucation. 

FIcchsig's  Theory. 

Flechsig  has  called  those  parts  of  the  brain  which  lie 
between  the  centers  of  sense  and  the  im.pulses,  and  into 
which  parts  of  the  brain  these  centers  push  out  nerve 
filaments,  the  association  centers.  Association  regions, 
however,  would  seem  to  be  a  better  term.,  and  less  con- 
fusing. Of  course,  we  must  not  think  that  all  associa- 
tion comes  about  solely  in  these  association  regions.  The 
cells  in  the  centers,  as  well  as  their  ramifying  connec- 
tions thru  these  regions,  are  involved  in  association  on  its 
physical  side. 

I  have  now  accounted  for  the  physical  activity  which 
the  very  processes  of  nature  compel  in  the  early  stages 
of  the  child's  development.  But  as  the  child  develops, 
and   his  conscious  life   enlarges,  this  tendency  toward 


28  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION. 

physical  activity  still  remains,  guided  somewhat  by  the 
child's  consciousness  and  will,  prompted  by  motives 
which  rise  and  control  him.  These  motives  are  capri- 
cious when  regarded  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  ma- 
ture mind.  But  however  this  physical  activity  may 
spring  out  of  the  capricious  motives  of  the  child,  and 
may  result  in  association?,  it  is  due,  in  fact,  to  an  under- 
lying necessity  of  the  child's  nature.  Unless  there  was 
physical  activity,  sensations  and  impressions  could  not 
be  conveyed  to  the  brain,  and  the  progressive  modifica- 
tion of  the  cells  which  compose  the  centers,  and  the 
shooting  out  of  the  filamentary  nerve  connections  or 
the  development  of  the  nascent  connections  would  not 
go  forward.  Physical  activity,  then,  you  will  see,  is 
necessary  for  the  development,  for  the  health,  and  for 
the  unity  of  the  nervous  mechanism. 

Proper  development  of  the  nervous  system  thru  phys- 
ical activity  may  be  secured,  some  one  will  say,  by  a 
judicious  provision  of  intervals  of  play  for  the  child 
and  youth.  It  may  be  granted  that  the  proper  amount 
of  play  would  secure  nervous  unity  to  the  individual. 
Modern  researches,  however,  have  shown  us  that  the 
physical  activity  of  the  child,  or,  to  speak  more  compre- 
hensively, the  motor  activities  of  the  child,  may  be  so 
employed  as  to  aid  largely  in  mental  development,  there- 
by making  that  mental  development  not  only  a  fuller 
one,  but  rendering  its  attainment  easier  for  the  child. 
Attention. 

The  employment  of  the  motor  activities  enables  the 
child  to  give  attention  the  easier ;  it  aids  largely  in  es- 
tablishing associations ;  it  furnishes  all  states  of  con- 
sciousness v/ith  a  richer  content. 

The  reason  why  the  child's  attention  can  be  held  for 
a  surprisingly  long  time,  provided  he  is  so  employed  that 


DEMANDS  OF  MOTOR  ACTIVITIES.         29 

the  motor  energy  may  be  expended  in  movement, 
seems  to  be  found  in  the  conditions  already  set  forth ; 
namely,  that  there  are  several  centers  of  cells  not  close- 
ly connected  with  one  another,  but  with  the  main 
branches  of  the  nervous  mechanism.  There  is  a  con- 
stant discharge  of  motor  energy  into  these  main  chan- 
nels of  the  motor  system,  in  order  to  produce  move- 
ment so  that  the  nervous  mechanism  may  be  developed 
thereby.  If,  then,  we  can  so  employ  motor  activities 
as  to  make  them  a  contributing  part,  or  an  accompani- 
ment in  the  child's  lessons,  we  are  enabled  thereby  to 
hold  the  child's  attention  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  if  we 
do  not  employ  the  motor  activities  as  an  accompani- 
ment, or  contributing  part  in  teaching  the  child,  this 
energy  which  must  be  expended  in  movement,  with- 
draws his  attention  from  what  we  have  in  hand  for 
him. 

The  impulses  to  motor  activity  seem  to  be  the  domi- 
nating factor  in  the  capricious  attention  of  the  child  ; 
consequently,  if  we  would  hold  the  child's  attention  to 
any  task,  we  must  provide  some  motor  accompaniment. 
In  so  doing,  we  use  up  the  motor  energy,  which,  by  its 
very  consumption,  promotes  the  growth  and  develop- 
ment of  the  nervous  mechanism.  Moreover,  by  this 
consumption  of  motor  energy  in  accordance  with  the 
normal  functioning  of  the  nervous  system,  we  not  only 
free  the  child  from  its  otherwise  disturbing  influence, 
but  give  him  at  the  same  time  a  feeling  of  pleasure. 

Not  only  is  the  child  enabled  the  easier  to  give  his 
attention  to  any  matter  in  hand  by  the  employment  of 
motor  activities  with  the  more  purely  intellectual  efforts 
required  of  him,  not  only  is  this  way  the  shortest  way  to 
develop  to  their  fullest  perfection  the  control  centers,  and 
to   aid  in  the  development  and  strengthening  of    the 


30  THREE  STUDIES  IN  EDUCATION. 

powers  of  will,  but  association  and  memory  are  largely 
aided  by  such  motor  means. 

Association. 

Association  is  made  stronger,  we  well  know,  by  in- 
creasing sense  experiences  and  related  mental  ex- 
periences. If  we  wish,  then,  to  strengthen  the  associ- 
ations and  memory,  we  must  give  the  child  as  many 
sense  experiences  about  any  object  as  possible,  and  as 
many  experiences  in  which  he  perceives  some  thought- 
relation,  as  we  can  give  him.  Now,  the  motor  gives 
more  sense  experiences,  and  it  enables  the  mind  to  per- 
ceive more  relations,  because  the  hands  and  the  eyes 
are  working  together,  and  there  is  a  progressive,  de- 
veloping concrete,  continually  forming  as  the  outcome 
of  the  conjoint  use  of  hands  and  eyes.  It  will  be  evi- 
dent that  the  presentative  and  representative  images 
are  thereby  enormously  increased  as  to  number.  The 
representative  images  are  also  clearer.  It  follows,  then, 
that  the  judgments  formed  thru  discrimination  and 
comparison  are  not  only  innumerably  graater  in  total- 
ity, but  they  are  also  more  accurate.  Consequently, 
the  motor  makes  clearer  thinkers,  because  the  pupil 
constructs  more  definite  pictures  or  projections.  And 
because  of  this  reciprocal  eifect  of  one  power  of  mind 
upon  another,  all  his  thinking  is  more  definite  and  ex- 
act. 

Mental  Development  Aided  by  Motor  Means. 

No  one  will  question  the  proposition  that  mental  de- 
velopment is  dependent  upon  the  development  of  the 
central  nervous  system,  or  the  brain  and  its  attached 
branches.  Altho  the  cells  which  constitute  this  system 
may  not  be  increased  in  number  after  the  birth  of  the 
fully-matured  infant,  the  education  of  the  child  is  always 
a  matter  of  the  development  of  more  or  less  of  thos© 


DEMANDS  OF  MOTOR  ACTIVITIES.  31 

cells,  and  also  of  the  establishment  of  more  numerous 
connections  between  the  centers.  If,  thru  any  sys- 
tem of  school  methods  and  prescription  of  studies 
a  part  of  the  potential  cells  of  the  brain  remain  undevel- 
oped, we  have  a  brain  of  less  power,  a  brain  of  less  baL 
ance,  a  brain  less  able  to  stand  the  stress  which  is  sure 
to  come  upon  it.  Besides,  many  difficulties  will  be 
experienced  when  the  higher  development  of  the  mind 
is  sought.  The  greater  the  number  of  potential  cells 
that  are  appealed  to,  and  the  more  numerous  the  con- 
nections we  attempt  to  -establish  between  centers,  the 
easier  will  it  be  for  that  brain  to  acquire  the  various 
forms  of  thought-activity  which  have  resulted  from  the 
long  intellectual  development  of  the  race.  By  the  em- 
ployment of  motor  activity  in  teaching  the  child  in  our 
schools,  not  only  is  a  greater  number  of  cells  called  into 
action,  thus  increasing  largely  the  pathways  of  inter- 
connection  and  filling  in  the  association  regions,  but  the 
reaction  in  many  of  the  centers  is  rendered  more  complex 
because  additional  elements  enter  thereby  into  the  re- 
action. Clearness  of  conception  is  dependent  upon  the  va- 
riety and  strength  of  the  images  fused  in  the  centers  dur- 
ing the  reaction,  whose  consequence  is  the  psychic  product. 
What  special  application  now  is  to  be  made  of  this 
knowledge  in  regard  to  the  motor  activities,  and  how  are 
the  demands  which  these  m.otor  activities  make,  to  be 
met  in  the  education  of  the  child  ?  Seek  in  every  subject 
of  study,  especially  in  the  lower  grades,  to  provide  motor 
activity,  at  least  as  an  accompaniment  of  study  and  of  re- 
citation. If  possible,  however,  invent  means  which  shall 
use  up  the  motor  tendencies,  and  at  the  same  time  make 
them  a  contributing  part  in  the  more  purely  thought 
work  required  of  the  child.  In  short  let  some  doing  ac- 
company all  the  child's  efforts  to  learn. 


.GVl^ 


STATE  .-^^  --^•^- 

LOS  A..  .  CALIF ORiMiA 


